eBay & Paypal - Policies and Practices

[Robert Fulman]

I think it's more likely that they'll use your picture to convince somebody else that they actually have the book in their possession.

[Dolan]

Scam if there ever was one.

[Brice]

Is it a particularly valuable book? I've never heard of it.

I'm not sure of the specific nature of the scam, but I'm pretty damn sure that it IS a scam.

[Dolan]

I don't know the price of the book either, but it sounds like the following:

I email a collector who owns (hypothetically) a proof of Carrie. I ask the owner to photograph it with my logo. I get the photo, post the image on AbesBooks, eBay, etc., and claim it as my own. Someone buys it, thinking that I own it, and I keep the $$$.

Just as Robert Fulman said above.

[Brice]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'm just curious if it's a particularly valuable book. I mean it seems like it would be more trouble than it's worth if not.

[herbertwest]

When in doubt..throw it out. If it sounds too good to be true it is, and if it sounds weird, it is.
Delete it and never look back.

I don't know the price of the book either, but it sounds like the following:

I email a collector who owns (hypothetically) a proof of Carrie. I ask the owner to photograph it with my logo. I get the photo, post the image on AbesBooks, eBay, etc., and claim it as my own. Someone buys it, thinking that I own it, and I keep the $$$.

Just as Robert Fulman said above.

Exactly.
Is your copy signed or something?

[Rahfa]

The book is of no significant value ($100 or so)...an Easton Press editon without much notoriety.

It is signed by Thomas Friedman. But it's not so unique that you couldn't find an image elsewhere and just use that one...it's not like a one-of-a-kind item like a Carrie proof. I'm not sure what the logo would add for customer or seller....

[sgc1999]

maybe some evil meniacal mind did it just to keep all of us ensuthed this morning

[sgc1999]

Go for it!!! You'll probably end up agreeing to be the "Virgin" sacrifice in a Amazon Death rite that saves a "people" and results in Zombie-ism, but what the heck else are you doing this week?

props for the giggle this morning

[Ricky]

I think it's more likely that they'll use your picture to convince somebody else that they actually have the book in their possession.

That was my thought, too.

[Randall Flagg]

Send me the image they want and I will email it to them with a dummy account. Of course I won't give them a valid Paypal address.

[Randall Flagg]

Fucking Ebay now puts ads in you ad. You can:

You have opted out of AdChoice across multiple browsers.
Please note you will still see ads, but they may not be as relevant to you. You may opt back in at any time

but you still get ads. I know, that is the new world...

[Merlin1958]

Just a random thought, but I was talking to a good friend today and just found out that Paypal/ebay charge fees on the s/h amount in a transaction!!!! I haven't sold on ebay in quite a while but that just floored me!! Plus, I was not aware that Paypal and Ebay are not independent companies!! That's sorta like "double-dipping, right? What a set-up!! Whoa!!

[Robert Fulman]

The reason for adding s&h is because before they had that rule, people used to sell stuff for a penny with $30 s&h.

[divemaster]

Just a random thought, but I was talking to a good friend today and just found out that Paypal/ebay charge fees on the s/h amount in a transaction!!!! I haven't sold on ebay in quite a while but that just floored me!! Plus, I was not aware that Paypal and Ebay are not independent companies!! That's sorta like "double-dipping, right? What a set-up!! Whoa!!

This is one of the major things that put me off eBay. You get nicked for an eBay fee AND a Paypal fee--and its the same damn company! And from what I can tell, you must use PayPal. You can't get around it.

I listed a few items for my wife a year or so ago and in the auction text I said something like "check or money order" and the eBay bot threw up red flags and said something along the lines of "we note that you have used the term "money order" which is a forbidden practice...blah blah blah, not acceptable, blah blah blah." WTF???

The only thing wrong with a money order is that eBay can't double dip for fees, which are ridiculously high to begin with.

[Brice]

I'm kinda surprised they've gotten away with stuff like that for so long.

[Tony]

I dunno. Two companies offering two distinct services - one is an auction company and the other is a money transfer one. Doesn't matter that one bought the other at some point in time. Why's it so surprising that you have to pay two different sets of fees?

It's like saying if you buy a bottle of Coke you're entitled to a bottle of Dasani water too.

[Brice]

Seems more like saying Coke bought the stores they were sold exclusively in and charged whatever they wanted to to me.

[Tony]

Not trying to be a dick, so a sincere question: have Paypal fees changed?

And Ebay deciding to charge a fee on the shipping costs was the only logical choice to fix the issue of all those people who were manipulating listings by lowering the prices of the items and charge insanely high shipping charges to make up for it.

[divemaster]

I dunno. Two companies offering two distinct services - one is an auction company and the other is a money transfer one. Doesn't matter that one bought the other at some point in time. Why's it so surprising that you have to pay two different sets of fees?

It's like saying if you buy a bottle of Coke you're entitled to a bottle of Dasani water too.

No, it's like saying if you buy a bottle of Coke you must buy a bottle of Dasani water. There's no way to opt out, say, like using a check or money order which were perfectly fine on eBay for years (until eBay bought PayPal).

In today's world there are numerous methods to exchange payment. eBay basically says "screw all that, you have to use one method only--and guess what? We own it!"

[Randall Flagg]

By charging a fee on shipping, Paypal is creating a cost for the seller. It is very difficult to set up an auction and get the appropriate amount for shipping. The costs tend to be higher than the Ebay template sets up, then another % is taken by Paypal from the "below cost" shipping charge. I know that sellers creatively got around fees by having low sell prices and high shipping charges, but those days are over. Ebay and Paypal have a monopoly on auctions, payment and shipping charges. All of which cost the seller. I understand that that is the "cost of doing business", but Ebay/Paypal have a monopoly that eliminates competition and choices.

Also, a person has to be careful to not have a balance in Paypal when making a purchase that they would prefer to use a credit card for (It is easier to dispute a charge through ones own CC company than through Paypal.)

Originally, a PayPal account could be funded with an electronic debit from a bank account or by a credit card at the payer's choice. But some time in 2010 or early 2011, PayPal began to require a verified bank account after the account holder exceeded a predetermined spending limit. After that point, PayPal will attempt to take funds for a purchase from funding sources according to a specified funding hierarchy, regardless of what funding source is listed as "primary" in the account-holder's profile. The funding hierarchy is (1) a balance in the PayPal account; (2) a PayPal credit account, PayPal Extras, PayPal SmartConnect, PayPal Extras Master Card or Bill Me Later (if selected as primary funding source) (It can bypass the Balance); (3) a verified bank account; (4) other funding sources, such as non-PayPal credit cards.[2]

[Robert Fulman]

Let's say that you have a book that is worth $100, and you would like to sell. You can either:

1. Sell it one eBay: you sell the book and net, say, $90
2. Sell it somewhere else, for $100: you get the money by check and net $100
3. Sell it somewhere else, for $90: you get the money by check and net $90

In the first case, you feel cheated out of $10 because the book is "worth" $100. However, you could use the second method. If you can do this, it proves that eBay is not a monopoly. If you can't do this, then you hope for the third case. You net the same amount as from eBay, but you keep money away from the man. It also pretty much proves that the book is truly only worth $90. If you can't do this, then eBay might be a monopoly, but at least it serves a useful purpose (allowing you to maximize the amount of money you make on a sale, which apparently would be $0 without eBay).

I routinely charge $4 for media mail shipping on eBay. I wrap my books in copious bubble wrap and send in boxes with confirmation, and the typical price is $3.20. I don't feel like I am being cheated out of anything.

I would personally never send a check or money order to a stranger in hopes that my purchased goods will show up someday. eBay knows this, and so has instituted its rules to protect buyers.

Your mileage may vary.

[herbertwest]

Do you have a link regarding that new policy?

[Randall Flagg]

Do you have a link regarding that new policy?

The "new" policy is 2 years old.
Start here and then choose from the myriad of options:
https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?c...Legal_Hub_full

[Brice]

Let's say that you have a book that is worth $100, and you would like to sell. You can either:

1. Sell it one eBay: you sell the book and net, say, $90
2. Sell it somewhere else, for $100: you get the money by check and net $100
3. Sell it somewhere else, for $90: you get the money by check and net $90

In the first case, you feel cheated out of $10 because the book is "worth" $100. However, you could use the second method. If you can do this, it proves that eBay is not a monopoly. If you can't do this, then you hope for the third case. You net the same amount as from eBay, but you keep money away from the man. It also pretty much proves that the book is truly only worth $90. If you can't do this, then eBay might be a monopoly, but at least it serves a useful purpose (allowing you to maximize the amount of money you make on a sale, which apparently would be $0 without eBay).

I routinely charge $4 for media mail shipping on eBay. I wrap my books in copious bubble wrap and send in boxes with confirmation, and the typical price is $3.20. I don't feel like I am being cheated out of anything.

I would personally never send a check or money order to a stranger in hopes that my purchased goods will show up someday. eBay knows this, and so has instituted its rules to protect buyers.

Your mileage may vary.

What does kinda' make it a monopoly though is it's the only major online auction site which also just happens to own the only major company which functions as a banking industry online (that isn't a bank) . In fact they are a bank and should have to function under all the same rules banks operate under. It'd be like if walmart sold stuff (and charged a premium) and then you could only use some special wal mart money to buy their stuff (and they charged a premium on that walmart money) too. Oh, yeah and then the guy who pushes your stuff to your car charges too (with yet another premium tacked on).